Foot measuring device



June 28, 1960 c. F. BRANNOCK 2,942,344

FOOT MEASURING DEVICE Filed Nov. 21, 1958 IN VENTOR.

c/wafles F Brannoc/i ATTORNEY of the base plate.

United States Patent, "ice FOOT MEASURING DEVICE 7 Charles F. Brannock,404 SedgwickDrive, Syracuse, N.Y.

Filed Nov. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 775,471

4 Claims. (Cl. 33-3) This invention relates to and has as an object anew and improved foot rneasuring device. Prior devices of this type aredisclosed in my prior patents, Nos. 1,682,- 366, issued August 28, 1928,and 1,725,334, issued August'29 1929. p

"As disclosed inmy Patent 1,682,366, prior measuring devices .of thisgeneral type were formed of a base plate having a cup-shaped heelabutment formed at either end The foot to be measured was placed on thebase plate with the heel of the foot positioned in abutting relationshipwith one of the heel abutments. Apair of calibrated length scalesweretormed onthe base plate and the length of the foot was thendetermined by the salesman aligning, by sight, the forwardmost part ofthe foot with a line on the scale. This type of measurement is oftenunreliable because the salesman measuring the foot does not alwayscarefully sight normal to the surface of the measuring device. That is,if the eye ofthe salesman is positioned at either an acute, or anoblique, angle with respect to the foot and the calibrated scale formedon the base plate of the device, the resultant measurement determinationwould be either 2,942,344 Patented June as, 1960 2 accompanying drawingin which like characters designate corresponding parts.

In the drawing: a

Figure 1 is a plan view of a foot measuring device embodying myinvention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2--2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3 -3, Figure 1.

In the drawing the foot measuring device embodying my inventioncomprises a base plate, generally indicated at 10, which is formed witha central portion 12, elongate extensions 14 and 116, and sideextensions 18 and 20.

Formed on the elongate extensions 14 and 16 are a pair of aligned slots24 and 26 extending from the ends of the extensions to the centerportion 12 of the base plate 10. A. pair of abutment slides 28 and30'are mounted in slidable fashion on the base plate 12 in the slots 24and 26 respectively. These slides may be mounted in the manner disclosedin my prior Patent 1,725,334. The slides 28 and 36 are formed withabutment plates 32 and 34, respectively, and extend transversely acrossthe extensions 14 and 16. The portion of each of the slides 28, 30 inproximity to the'plates 32, 34 is of triangular form having inclined topsurfaces 36, $8.0m which are indicating arrows 49 and 42 formed in anysuitable manner for a purpose tobe hereinafter described.

The extensions 14 and 16 are formed at their outer terminus'withupwardly extending flanges 44, 46, and these flanges serve to form stopsto limit'the outward movement of the slides 28 and 30.

Positioned adjacent each of theslots 24 and 26 on the base plate .10,and extending parallel to the path of too long or too short, which wouldthus result in misfitting, and consequent harmful effects. Thissituation prevails especially when the device is used on a fitting stoolwhich has an inclined top surface on which the device is positioned.There are various types and lasts or shoes, and to obtain a proper fitfrom initial foot measurements it is necessary to correlate the variousmeasurements of the toot, such as foot length, arch length, width, etc.,on a pre-determined relationship in order to obtain a proper fit of theshoe to the foot. For example, foot measurements for a womans low heelshoe must be inter'preted and correlated in a different manner than whenmeasuring the foot for high heel shoes. Other instances are mens dressshoes and work, or safety shoes, or shoes for growing boys and shoes forgrowing girls.

With toot measuring devices now in general use .provision is made forone set of foot measurements. Accordingly, the shoe salesman isconfronted with the necessity of making a transposition of the footmeasurements according to the type orlast of shoe being purchased bythe" customer. Unless the salesman is particularly experienced, thisusually results in a matter of guesswork which requires the fitting ofseveral pairs of shoes before a satisfactory fit is obtained.

f It is an object of this invention to provide a foot meastl'ring devicewherein foot length measurements may be more accurately determined.

f'The invention has as a further object afoot measuring deviceembodyinga plurality of sets of scales, the scales. of eaclrset beingcorrelatedwhereby the device serves to provide accurate footmeasurements for more than one type or. last of shoe.

The invention consists in, the novel features and in the-combinationsand constructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

- Indescribing'this invention, reference is bad to the movement of theslides 28 and 30, are four (4) scales S0, 52, 54 and 56. These scalesare formed with grada .tions, generally indicated at 58 which arecalibrated to give an indication of the toe-to-heel measurement of thefoot in terms of shoe length size.

- The side extension 13 of the base plate 10 is formed with a slot 60which extends parallel to the slots 24 and 26 .and is positionedintermediate the slots 24 and 26 in transversely ofrset relation.Mounted in slidable fashion in the slot 60 is a ball-to-heelmeasurement, or arch measurement indicator 62 formed with a pointer '64.This ball slide maybe of the same type as disclosed in my Patent1,725,334. Positioned onthe extension 18, adjacent the path of. movementof the slide 62 are four (4) calibrated scales 66, 68, 7t) and '72.These scales serve to give an indication of arch length, or ballto-heellength of the foot.

In reference to the structure of the device, thus far described, thefoot is positioned upon the base plate with the heel against one'of theabutment plates 32, 34 with the corresponding slide positioned againstone of the stops 44, 46, the indicator 62 is then moved in the slot 60for proper registration with the ball joint of the foot. The slide 28,30 confronting the forward end of the foot is then moved into engagementtherewith to ascertain the .foot length measurement.v This is checkedwith the heel-toaball measurement determined by the indicator 62.

If the foot is normal these length measurements Will be the same.However, it often happens that the fore part o-fthe foot between-theball joint and the ends of the toes is either shorter or longer than thenormal foot. Usually the fore part of the foot is shorter due to curledtoes from previous misfitting' The taking of these .two measurementspermits the fitter .to determine the correct shoe length size whetherthe foot is normal, or abnormal. For example, it the foot length isindicated as being longer-than the arch length, for proper fit the footlength size is used. If the arch length is longer than the foot lengthby .a half size, the arch length is used. If the arch length is a fullsize, or longer than the foot length measurement, a compromise may beused between the two measurements depending upon the type of last of theshoe preferred by the customer.

Extension 28, of base plate It is formed with a slot 89 extendingtransversely to the slots 24, 26 and 60, and a width slide 82 is mountedin slidable fashion in the slot 80. The width slide 82 is triangular incross section and has affixed to its inner end an abutment plate 84.Calibrated scales 88, 89 are mounted on the sloping surfaces of theslide 82 corresponding to the foot length size selected by the fitter.

There are mounted upon the extension 20 adjacent the path of movement ofthe slide 82 a pair of scales 92, 90. One of these scales, such as thescale 90, is graduated with reference to the graduations of the footlength scale 52. The scale 92 is graduated in reference to the footlength scale 50.

In operation, when measuring the left foot, for example, the slide 30 ismoved outwardly in the slot 26 into engagement with the stop 46.Thereafter the foot, indicated by the dash lines 100, is positioned onthe base plate with the heel of the foot in engagement with, or abuttingthe plate 34 on the slide 30'. Thereupon the slide 28 is adjusted totake the foot length measurement and the indicator 62 to determine theheelto-ball measurement, as previously described. Finally, the widthslide 82 is moved inwardly in the slot 80 to the point where the plate84 engages the outer side of the foot 100. Thereupon the scale 88 on thewidth slide is read according to the foot length determination. Thislength reading on the scale 88 is then transposed to the scales 90 or 92to give a width measurement. The other foot is then measured in the samemanner by positioning the heel of the other foot against the plate 32 onthe slide 28 When the slide 28 has been moved outwardly into engagementwith the stop 44.

In the illustration shown in the drawing, the foot 100 is a left footand the plates 110 and 112 positioned in the central portion 12 of thebase plate 10 serve to facilitate the measurements by indicating whichfoot is being measured by the indicia left foot length being formed onthe plate 110, and right foot length being formed on the plate 112.

As will be obvious, the arrows formed on the slides 28 and 30 eliminatethe necessity for properly aligning the eye of the person performing themeasuring with the position of the foot on the foot length scales andconsequently the danger of misfitting is eliminated since the arrowsfunction to give a very accurate foo-t length measurement.

The foot measuring device illustrated in the drawing is provided withtwo sets of scales, one for measuring mens feet, and one for measuringwomens feet. For example, the foot length scale 52, the arch lengthscale 66, and the width scale 90 constitute a set of scales formeasurement of the left foot of a man, these scales being properlycorrelated to give a correct measurement. The scales 56, 72 and 96 arecorrelated for measurements of the right male foot. The scales 50, 68and 92 are for taking measurements of the left female foot and,likewise, the set of scales 54, 7G, and 94 are for taking measurementsof the right female foot.

'For example, the scales 50 and 54 have been shown with gradations,generally indicated at 58, which are calibrated to give female footlengths, While the scales 52 and '56 are shown with gradationscalibrated to give male foot lengths. Accordingly, if the foot 100 beingmeasured is a male foot, the arrow 40 on the slide 28 will give a footlength measurement of between 10 and 10 /2, whereas if the foot 100 is afemale foot, the arrow 42 is utilized to give a foot length measurementof between 10 /2 and 11.

Similarly, the scales 68 and '70 are formed with gradations calibratedto give female foot arch lengths, and

'tions on the male width scale 90.

in the position shown in the drawing, give a female arch length ofbetween 11 and 11 /2. In like manner, the scales 66 and 72 are formedwith gradations calibrated to give male foot arch lengths and if thefoot 100 is a male foot the pointer 64 on the arch length slide 62indicates a male arch length on scale 66 of between 10 and 10 /2.

The width scales and 96 are formed with calibrated width gradations togive male foot widths, and the scales 92, 94 are likewise formed to givefemale foot widths. In use the scales 88 and 89, formed on thetriangular portion of the width slide 82, are read in terms of the shoelength size which is transposed to give the foot width measurement. Asshown, for example, in the drawing, if the foot is a left male foot witha shoe length size of between 10 and 10 /2 this length when found on'thescale 88 falls between the A and B grada- If, however, the foot 100 is afemale foot and with a shoe length size as shown of 11 a correspondingfemale foot width is indicated on the scale 92 of between AA and AAA.

Accordingly, the device provides for the ready and convenient taking ofcorrect measurements for both men and women.

The sets of scales may be correlated for the taking of foot measurementsfor other types of shoes, as for example, mens dress shoes and menswork, or safety shoes. The sets of scales may also be correlated fortaking measurements of womens low heel shoes and womens high heel shoes,or the sets may be calibrated and correlated for the measurement ofgrowing boys feet and growing girls feet.

Accordingly, the example of male and female scales indicated in thedrawing and described hereinbefore is by way of example and illustrationonly, and is not to be considered as limiting the invention only by thescope of the appended claims.

To facilitate proper reading of the different scales the different setsof scales may be differently colored, for example, in the illustrationshown in the drawing, the scales 50, 54, 68, 70, 92 and 94 may becolored red to facilitate female foot measurement readings, while thescales 52, 56, 66, 72, 90 and 96 may be colored black to facilitate malefoot measurements. Also suitable indicia, such as width left foot andwidth right foot" may be formed on the scales 90, 92, 94 and 96respectively, as is shown in the drawing.

What I claim is:

1. A foot measuring device comprising a foot supporting and receivingbase plate, a pair of abutment slides mounted in slidable fashion onsaid base plate for movement toward and away from each other, a pair ofdif ferently calibrated foot length scales positioned adjacent the pathof movement of each of said slides, said slides alternately cooperatingas toe and heel abutments to give heel-to-toe foot length measurements,an arch slide mounted in slidable fashion on said base for movement in apath parallel to the path of movement of said abutment slides, aplurality of differently calibrated arch length scales positionedadjacent the path of movement of said arch slide to give heel-to-ballfoot length measurements, a width slide mounted in slidable fashion onsaid base for movement in apath transverse to the path of movement ofsaid abutment slides, a pair of differently calibrated width scalespositioned adjacent said side of the path of movement of said widthslide, and means formed on said width slide for indicating foot widthmeasurement in relation to said foot length measurements.

2. A foot measuring device for measuring both left and right feetcomprising a base plate, a pair of abutment slides mounted for slidingmovement at opposite ends of said plate, one of saidslides forming aheel abutment and the other-slide being movable to give an indication offoot length when measuring one foot, said slides operating reverselywhen measuring the other foot, a calibrated foot length scale adjacenteach slide and a pointer carried by each slide to indicate the length ofthe foot being measured on said scale, and a width slide mounted formovement transverse to said abutment slides to give an indication offoot width.

3. A foot measuring device for measuring both left and right feetcomprising a foot supporting base plate, a pair of abutment slidesmounted on said base plate for movement toward and away from the centerof said plate, said slides being reversely cooperable and actingalternately as a heel abutment and a toe abutment to give a foot lengthmeasurement, a pair of calibrated foot length scales positioned adjacentthe path of movement of each of said slides, a heel-to-ball slidemounted on said plate for movement in a path parallel to said abutmentslides, two pair of calibrated scales positioned adjacent the path ofmovement of said heel-to-ball slide, said last mentioned slide'beingformed with a pointer which cooperates with said last mentioned scales,whereby to give a heel-to-ball measurement, a width slide mounted formovement in the path transverse to paths of movement of said abutmentslides and said heel-to-ball slide, and a pair of calibrated foot widthscales positioned on each side of said width slide adjacent the path ofmovement of said width slide, said width slide being formed withgradations corresponding to said foot length scales whereby foot widthmeasurer'nent may be determined relative to the foot length measurement.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein each of said abutment slidesincludes an abutment plate and a pointer fiormed on said slides, saidpointer being positioned a spaced distance rearwardly on said slide fromsaid plate whereby to accurately indicate the foot length measurement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,682,366 Brannock Aug. 28, 1928 7 1,725,334 Brannock Aug. 20, 19292,696,051 Perman Dec. 7, 1954 2,782,504 De Pesco Feb. 26, 1957

